1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of machines for washing vehicle tires mounted on wheels which, in turn, are mounted on axles of a vehicle and, more particularly, to an apparatus for washing mud and dirt from the tires of construction trucks as they are leaving a construction site and before entering upon the pavement of a road.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When a construction truck leaves a construction site, especially muddy sites, dirt and mud tend to adhere to the truck's tires, and to become embedded in the treads of the tires. When the truck then drives onto a paved road, there is left on the pavement a trail of mud and dirt. Many jurisdictions now require contractors to remove such mud and dirt from the pavement and also to comply with strict sediment control requirements, and subject contractors to penalties for not doing so, as debris o the pavement is environmentally inconsistent and presents to vehicular traffic. Some contractors attempt to solve the problem by manually sweeping the pavement to place it in its original condition.
Even though there are many known prior art devices for cleaning vehicles in general, and vehicle wheels and tires in particular, they are not particularly efficient in washing debris from the tires of a construction truck as it leaves a construction site and before it enters upon a paved road.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,467,994 discloses a drive-through in-ground washing bowl which has ribs on the submerged floor, itself, in order to help vibrate and remove mud from a vehicle's wheels. Patent No. 620,321 shows a similar apparatus, but for use as a roller-coaster, and having undulations in the submerged part of a track.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,179,117 and 3,903,559, the vehicle whose wheels are being cleaned is moved crosswise of a trailer bed on which a cleaning apparatus is mounted. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,903,559, the cleaning apparatus operates on an axle's worth of tires at a time, the apparatus rotates the truck's tires while the truck driver has the truck transmission in neutral, the device sprays water on the tires, and rollers driving the tires are raised after the truck has driven into position and, then, are lowered in order to permit the truck to be driven further forward.
The following U.S. patents are of further background interest, and several show the broad concept of an above-ground trough-type tire cleaning device in which a vehicle, while its tires are being cleaned, is supported on an elevated grid or the like located above the bottom of the trough: U.S. Pat. Nos. 118,085; 820,463; 1,338,714; 1,412,732; 1,484,071; 1,487,062; 1,479,841; 1,651,045; 1,694,197; 1,909,869; 2,716,767; 2,718,650; 2,797,006; 2,814,825; 2,981,266; 2,997,048; 3,058,133; 3,593,726; 3,681,805; 3,698,029 and 3,772,723.